The Senate yesterday passed without amendment the government's legislation to revamp the national eHealth record system.
The Health Legislation Amendment (eHealth) Bill 2015 implements recommendations from the 2013 review of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), including renaming the record to 'My Health Record'.
The bill will allow the health minister to apply an opt-out participation model for the eHealth record to particular areas.
The change will enable trials of new approaches intended to boost participation in the system.
Health minister Sussan Ley last month revealed details of the opt-out trials, which will be conducted in Queensland and NSW.
The bill was endorsed by Senate's Community Affairs Legislation Committee.
However, the changes to the system have raised concerns among privacy advocates.